Road Trip
by rings of purity
Summary: No one can resist puppy dog eyes, especially if it's coming from Steve Rogers. So a week before Clint and Natasha's wedding, Steve convinces Tony to go on a road trip with him, from Cali to the Big Apple. They are to see the great wonders of America and get lost along the way. Rule no. 1: Never let Steve drive without a GPS. STONY and bits of Clintasha.
1. Prologue

_Hey guys, I'm back with a whole story here! This is my first Avengers story, so if there's anything that doesn't make sense or if there's any typos, that's totally on me._

 _It's going to be a slow-build story, so the good Stony parts won't come up until I decide where it should come up. I just like slow-build stories sometimes._

 _I do not own the Avengers or Fantastic Four! If I did, Stony would be canon. So would Clintasha :)_

* * *

Road Trip (or when we kissed and missed the wedding)

[7-19-15]

 **Prolouge**

* * *

"Did you get the flowers yet?"

"Flowers?"

"Yes, the flowers. I thought you ordered them already."

Natasha shook her head and puzzled herself over a crossword puzzle. She tapped the pencil's eraser against the page of the book mindlessly, eventually letting her mind drift off into space. She only had three more words to fill in but after over an hour and a half, what was the point? It wasn't like the puzzle was going to foretell her future if she kept on narrowing her eyes and burning holes into the empty boxes because she was getting too damn frustrated on a piece of paper, when in truth, she should be frustrated over the preparations for a lady's special time in life; the lady being herself.

In one week, Natasha was going to walk up to the altar with Steve by her side, who would hand her over to the only person would could understand her better than anyone else, the goofball who crawled through vents for a living at the tower, her official partner in crime since Day 1 in Budapest (we have yet to know what happened there), but overall a confidante, a best friend, her future husband to be.

Clint Barton. Yes, him.

Maria Hill garnered a hundred dollars from Tony once news spread like wildfire, much to "Clintasha's" dismay.

Originally, both assassins have agreed to keep their relationship a secret because of work, not so much the media (except for those who literally live on photoshop and shit) and of course, Tony Stark himself. Somehow, the billionaire found out about their secretive love affair (not so much an affair; Natasha never had a boyfriend and Clint had broken up with some SHIELD agent) and on Natasha's birthday a week later after he knew, the gift he gave her were a pair of customized 5-inch scarlet red stilettos with a small knife hidden inside each heel, and on the shoe platform (about two inches thick), the word _Clintasha_ flashing in neon colors from inside the hardcore plastic. It was a misguided way in which Tony was expressing his amusement for the couple, and about a day later, she hopped out of the vent leading into Tony's workshop and tossed him the stilettos which were somehow snapped in half, giving him an unimpressed look. That didn't stop the cackles and the one-liner jokes from happening, though. And it was worse through the battle coms.

Natasha didn't have it easy in the first stage of her love life. It started out with the big green rage monster and the master assassin. So far it went okay and their only intimate skin-on-skin contact was whenever she had to calm the Other Guy down after battles or whenever he got angry because he's always angry and she was the only one who could stop him from wrecking the entire tower...again. Lessons were learned after this, meaning no pointy objects and noise blaring materials that could really unleash the Hulk when he was really not needed (because everybody loves puny Banner rather than puny Hulk). Somehow Natasha had convinced Bruce to run away from everything and be together forever, and they almost did, if it weren't for Sokovia ruining everything and Ultron as well.

Unfortunately Bruce did run away (in Hulk form) in a quinjet, just without Natasha. She was agitated, frustrated and disappointed overall. The team and SHIELD spent weeks searching everywhere, from land to sea, mountains to deserts, North to South, East to West. Fury had concluded the search party a month later and Natasha was on the brink of giving the director another eye patch to go with his gothic macho look, this time a gold one like Odin's.

Thor would've liked that.

During the hectic search for Bruce, things had to go slightly back to normal, which meant Natasha and Clint had to go on missions for SHIELD, Thor to Asgard, Jane or just eating pop tarts all day, Tony tinkering down at the lab and Steve doing whatever he does when not on missions.

Whenever Natasha and Clint aren't doing anything, they spend their time down at the HQ for Bruce. Clint knew how important it was for his friend to find Bruce, so he lets himself get dragged by her everyday to stare at the blinding screens for five hours straight before heading back to Avengers Tower and doing it again for who knows how long. It got to a point where the Archer had to douse her with ice cold water on a Sunday night, attempting to convince her that it was an unhealthy...obsession over finding him. Well, at least that's what he puts it as in his terms.

Natasha was literally shaking from head to toe, but not because of how frigid the water was. One second her face was tinted with red, hands curled up into fists as she looked into Clint's eyes with a steely gaze. He almost contemplated about running away while he can, until Natasha ran her fingers into her hair, tugging at the ends before breaking down, frustrated groans mixing with her cries.

It was the first time Clint has seen her in a most vulnerable form, but instead of just standing there like a doof thinking about it, he instantly reacted by pulling her into an embrace, one that felt safe, reassuring and warm. Natasha had eased into the contact and her eyes drifted as she stared at the New York City skyline, eyebrows furrowed and the soothing words from the Archer's voice faded into the background.

Love is for children.

For children.

Is she a child?

No. She is an assassin. An adult. And yet she lets herself get lost in a world where love is too breakable, too vulnerable, too painful. She has been taught that love is useless and would only hold back someone from important issues in life. But...doesn't love and the pain afterwards makes someone human?

Ugh. Stupid Bruce, stupid feelings. He just had to leave and make everything feel like complete and utter shit these days.

After her little episode, Natasha seemed to go back to normal and Clint never questioned her about it. Tony, Steve and Thor didn't see anything different about the assassin so all was good and dandy these days. Then a mission happened and Natasha found herself staring into her best friend's eyes, clutching his hand as she muttered curse words in Russian on where the fucking medics were at. Clint kept saying the usual "if I don't make it" lines and she couldn't take it anymore. Natasha covered his mouth with her own and the world stopped. She felt a tingle in her arms and somewhere in her heart, a spark snapped and she pulled away hastily before the figurative flames burned brighter and stronger and thank god the medics finally came to the rescue. The last thing Natasha heard was an "I'm sorry" from the Archer before being lulled into the real world by Captain America, who was barking out orders and scolding Iron Man for having such a potty mouth these days.

Days later after the mission, Bruce suddenly appears out of nowhere in front of the main lobby, passing out afterwards. No soul ever said a word as he was taken into a hospital minutes later and everyone stayed by his side, just making sure that he was alright.

And he was, but seriously, what was wrong with the world?

Nobody knows, but yet another villain has threatened humanity and the Fantastic Four were called in for the Avengers seeing how Hawkeye and the Hulk were unavailable at the moment.

So they beat up the enemy this time like all the other times. It was weird, though. Blood thirsty reindeers with eagle talons and its leader was a fucked up version of Santa Claus. It wasn't even Christmas.

Either way the Hulk barged in during the attack, smashing smashing smashing his way through, eventually making everything more easier for everyone. And like always it was Natasha's job to calm the Hulk down. She did the usual procedure and she forced herself to meet his gaze, trying not to recede and just check if anything was worth looking into. The eyes said everything, however, and once the Hulk was reversing back to being Bruce Banner, Natasha walked away towards the Quinjet slowly so the scientist could catch up and not get lost.

Bruce just smiled down at her and she nodded in return, words unspoken but understood. Back to being friends and she would never admit it, but that could have been the happiest the assassin ever was in her entire life.

And speaking about happy, maybe Natasha could use some of that to turn Sue's frown upside down?

The assassin didn't realize she was in a daze until the Invisible Woman grabbed the paper she once had, playfully smacking her on the head and then setting it down on the redhead's bedside table. Natasha rolled her eyes and took it back, swinging it around to see if she could spot her since Sue was invisible. Typical.

"I'm not destroying my room just to make you suddenly appear, Storm." Natasha settled back to her bed and focused her undivided attention on the stupid crossword puzzle, finally finding that much needed answer.

"Richards," Sue corrected her with a smile and pointed at her ring on her left hand, until she realized she was invisible and just grumbled, making herself appear as the bride-to-be flashed her an amused look. "and it's technically Tony's room."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Not anymore. Clint and I got down dirty once. Best night of our lives. I think we gave Tony nightmares or something, since he leased my entire floor to me, so I basically own this now."

"And how did Tony know?"

"Clint literally lives by his name."

Sue was baffled at first, before forming an "o" on her lips and her face sported a shade darker than what Steve's would be if Natasha were to tell him. The assassin snorted at Sue but said nothing.

"I...didn't need to know that, thank you very much."

"You asked. I answered."

Sue shook her head and smiled, standing up to continue on working with the wedding preparations and the bouquet Natasha never ordered. For most people, they tend to think that handling a wedding is messy and cluttered, but when it comes to Sue, it's nothing close to that. All the catalogs and magazines were neatly organized by topic, ranging from wedding dresses to shoes to silverware, mounted on top of several chair seats. Notes and pens on Natasha's mahogany desk and several open phone calls from multiple phones, Sue somehow managing to answer every single one of them.

AAnd she wasn't the only one contributing to this. While she and Alicia (was that her name?) were the wedding planners, Thor had taken the liberty to bring some Asgardian horses for the chariot he had insisted on also bringing with him. He was very enthusiastic about the wedding (probably even more than Clint and Natasha combined) and had demanded responsibility to take care of their departure by preparing an Asgardian tradition...whatever that may be. And somehow it includes Tony.

Steve volunteered on walking Natasha down the aisle, afterwards handing her to Clint who was going to be waiting at the altar for her, with his lopsided grin at the ready. Bruce was to make sure the media wouldn't get through the area in the park that was specially reserved for this occasion, and nobody likes an angry Bruce. Everybody speaking from experience, of course.

And Tony just pays for everything. And invites some friends. And supplies the over surplus of booze, enough to make Pepper secretly sneak into the billionaire's cabinets and take out some of them with JARVIS' help.

Clint obviously has nothing to do so he'll just spend his time with Johnny and Ben, until the bachelor party comes around and he'll get drunk as much as he wants to, but not too much since he is going to get married to the one of the world's deadliest assassin. Besides him of course.

"You are happy, right?"

Natasha glanced up at Sue, quirking an eyebrow at the question. "Yeah, why?"

"And you do want to get married with Clint, correct?"

"Sue, spill." Natasha straightened up and tossed the puzzle away, sighing. What's with all of the questions?

Sue stayed still for a moment, her hands resting atop of a bridesmaid dress catalogue before turning around to glance at the assassin, who was currently giving her a pointed look. "Before my first wedding-"

"You got married two times?"

"No, the first attempt was a disaster. Second one could've been better."

"Right. Go on." The redhead motioned with her hands.

"I don't know, but I had my doubts on whether or not I should marry Reed. He was always so enthralled and focused in his work, and still is, but most of his time he spent it on working until he'd fall asleep in his lab at 4 a.m. I love him and I know he loves me too, but I wasn't sure if he could give me whatever I want and vice versa. I understand how he is and somehow Alicia managed to talk me into marrying him, even if the first one we can all blame it on Reed.

"What I'm trying to say is that, I just want you to be sure that this is what you really want, that you're not going to regret anything at all. That being with Clint will be the best thing you'll ever have in the world."

"Best thing I'll ever have in the world is Thor's Asgardian Chariot. If I can get Tony to gamble it off for me, I might as well call myself a millionaire now. It's made of real gold." Natasha said with a smug smile. Then she saw the look Sue gave her and she softened the smile. "And Clint. Who can forget about Clint?"

"Damn right, Tasha!"

Both ladies looked up to spot Clint snooping down on them, giving them skeptical looks before the vent opening popped open and he tumbled out, clashing against the bed and then with the carpeted floor. Natasha sneaked a peek at him before shaking her head and turning on the TV, the opening credits for 'Sons of Anarchy' flashing by. She settled the remote on the bed and glanced at Sue, who crouched down to see if Clint as a-okay. "That happens sometimes."

Sue rolled her eyes. "I'm sure it does."

* * *

 _Hopefully everyone enjoyed the ffirst chapter of this story, even if it is the prologue. I just wanted to introduce Clintasha since the wedding is theirs. Like I said, Stony won't be introduced until I feel like they should be together, so y'all got to be patient with me. Plus, suspense is good._

 _I'm currently writing the chapters for this story, but don't worry, I have it all planned out on what's happening in each chapter!_

 _Thanks for reading and hopefully you guys can like, follow and leave a review!_

 _\- Kay._

 _[P.S. Go see Ant-Man! You'll love it!]_


	2. Tony, we're going on a road trip

_Never owned the Avengers and sadly, never will :(_

* * *

Road Trip (or when we kissed and missed the wedding)

[7-22-15]

Ch.1

 **"Tony, we're going on a road trip."**

* * *

He's got it all under control.

PowerPoint is on the ready, lights were in the right places, the stage was sleek and shiny and the bots were properly installed so he wouldn't look stupid trying to pry away a piece of the suit, all the while trying to present a new idea his overly ingenious brain had came up with four days ago.

And Clint still wonders why his brain hasn't been fried yet.

Tony sat on one of the seats the helicopter had to offer, all suited up with the new and improved Mark 44, which included new weapons (big surprise) and a glossier coat of gold titanium alloy. Back when the suit was finished about two weeks ago, it practically shined like it was the sun only because of the amount of vibrancy Tony had decided to increase on the gold armor parts. It almost looked like real gold, and it was, but even more brighter which made it appear to be too real. Too perfect.

Fake, in other words.

Clint made sure to point that out and, surprisingly, Bruce backed him up. Steve swayed in the middle, Natasha could care less and Thor happily munched on his 16th poptart (in a span of five minutes), arguing that Asgardian gold seemed and was much more worthy than Midgardian gold. No offense to Midgardian gold, Thor added after his argument. Loki was just muttering something about Thor being an oaf and 'there is no such difference regarding Asgardian and Midgardian gold'.

Like expected, Tony took it offensively and restricted access to the fridge in the kitchen, the gym and no TV for anyone in the Avengers. They would get to use it if they went to Tony and apologized and then begged for it, because Tony likes to take advantage of any opportunity that comes his way.

That went on for only four days (nobody wants to give Tony the satisfaction), before Capsicle broke the glass doors to Tony's workshop, muttering something about fixing it later, heaving the brunette over his shoulders and stomping all the way to the gym, demanding him to undo what he's done. That never happened since the assassins somehow kidnapped Tony and dragged him into the kitchen, where they found Thor with Mjölnir about to smash the entire kitchen just for poptarts. Bruce found everything amusing and stood in the sidelines, reading a book on the cosmos and meteors. Loki seemed unfazed at first and suddenly remembered about this cooking show he saw once, freaked out in such a godly way and grabbed him by the collar, taking him to the living room in front of the TV.

It only took Loki turning him into a fuzzy cat to make him switch back the access for everything in the tower, and the Avengers were content. During his ten minutes as a cat, everyone cooed at him and Thor swinged him around in circles very dangerously at very dangerous speeds. Tony kitty puked on him but the god of thunder dismissed it easily, who was much too happy and spontaneous at the moment. Natasha and Clint tickled him on his belly and tossed him back and forth gently, ignoring Tony's cries of anger and irritation. Then, it was Bruce's turn but he kindly rejected it, seeing as how there are some things that don't mix well with him. Apparently, Tony Kitty was one of them.

Loki glared at him in disgust and he swore he saw Tony smirk at him, unleashing a claw at the same time.

And out of everyone, Steve was the only one who treated him with care and in a lovingly way. The Captain still cooed at him and tickled his fuzzy belly, and he gently rocked him back and forth in his chiseled and muscular arms, making Tony unknowingly purr. The other Avengers took notice and smirked, asking JARVIS to take as many pictures as the AI can, who willingly agreed. The engaged pair settled bets and the rest went on to take sides or ignore it.

Then Loki had to ruin the fun and Tony was grateful to revert back to his normal self, shooting death glares at everyone. There was something that felt different and the billionaire has never jumped that high in his life.

Steve Rogers was cradling him. Tony was being rocked back and forth. In Steve's too perfect, too beautiful arms. They made eye contact and Tony stumbled out of his strong but gentle grasp, heading over to the living room to fix the TV, leaving a flustered Capsicle behind in his wake.

What the hell was that?

"What the hell was what?"

Tony almost forgot Pepper was in the helicopter with him.

"What the hell was what what?" Tony pushed his sunglasses further up the bridge of his nose.

Pepper rolled her eyes annoyingly and snatched the glasses from his face, folding it up and gingerly tucking it inside her dress pocket. "Wearing sunglasses inside lit places makes you look like a dick, Tony."

"I agree to disagree. It makes me look cooler and much hotter, and you would know that because we dated before." The billionaire smirked.

Pepper smacked him on the head and sat down besides him, ignoring his feigning hurt displayed across his face. "Yes, I do. And Happy is just ten feet away from us." She said, motioning to the said pilot who was busy handling the helicopter.

Tony raised an eyebrow and eyed Pepper, clearly bewildered. "He can pilot a helicopter?"

"I thought you knew that."

"No I didn't. And I didn't hire him for this."

"I did. And not because I'm dating him." The CEO smiled.

"I would know if you did, sweetheart."

"What? You're keeping tabs on me now?" Pepper looked at him incredulously, but it was Tony Stark and he always kept tabs on everything Stark Industries related. And since she's been appointed CEO of the company, she can't argue with that.

The billionaire snorted and crossed a leg over the other, or at least tried to. The suit was bulky and definitely weighed a ton, and he tried to slim it down a bit but once he tried that, it felt and seemed like it clung to him like a skin tight body suit. It wasn't pretty at all, more harder for the bots to take apart and protection was at a low. And Tony needs protection considering his last few sparring lessons with the Widow and the God of Thunder went terribly bad. He got owned at least ten times before the Captain graciously let him win once, probably because he felt bad for him and Tony didn't need pity.

He got owned two more times before calling it quits and face planting himself on the mat, sleeping soundly away and the trio had to admit that he looked so cute that way. Then they high-fived in victory, because that guy never sleeps.

"Don't I always?"

Pepper sighed and shook her head in denial, earning a huff. The redhead prodded her exclusive StarkPad (temporarily not in stores) and a few tabs popped up on the screen, showing live footage of the backstage, stage and the rest of the exhibition. Thousands of people were already packed inside the Staples Center and even those who weren't allowed in because of capacity overload were waiting outside, phones in the air, hollering in excitement just to see Iron Man fly towards them and inside the Center.

Pepper insisted on hosting the Stark Expo back in Queens, in Flushing Meadows once they returned from Cali, but Tony being the compulsive and obstinate person he was, wouldn't wait and demanded to host the party in LA, just a few miles east from Malibu.

Four days wasn't going to be enough to get everything assembled and ready to go, Pepper argued. So in order to please the CEO, Tony agreed to help the workers. And by helping, he meant walking around to make sure everything went smoothly, encouragingly shouting at them and offering to pay for breakfast and lunch. Pepper didn't see it as enough so she made Tony install the bots, since he's the only one who really knows how they work.

"Did you at least pay those workers extra, Tony? Some of them had a day's off in one of those four days!" Pepper scolded while scrolling through the footage.

Tony watched the footage with Pepper and nodded. "Of course I did. What kind of person would I be if I didn't?"

"An arrogant, self-absorbed and selfish person."

"You forgot self-centered."

She just rolled her eyes.

"Pepper, you wound me." Tony frowned and sighed dramatically, placing a hand over his arc reactor.

"Tony..."

"A thousand extra in their salary. It's a good amount, isn't it? I think it is."

"Maybe a bit too much...I-"

Tony cuts her off before she gets a chance to make another argument. "Pepper, you just said I made them work their asses off for four whole days when this whole thing could've taken at least a month or so. Stop being selfish and let me be a better person. Jesus Christ...I thought that's what you wanted!" He playfully rebuked at her, shaking a finger at her.

"I do and I am not selfish-!"

The helicopter beeped and Happy looked back at the duo. "Ready when you are, Mr. Stark."

Tony nodded and walked over to the opening doors, letting the rushing wind hit his face. He could see the twinkling lights below him and the rooftop of the Staples Center. The billionaire glanced back at Pepper and shook his head, crossing his arms over each other. "Oh Pepper, you really do wound me."

The CEO shook her head and smiled, tossing him the head piece to the Iron Man suit. "Don't crash."

Tony winked and puts the headpiece on, faceplate coming down and his synthesized voice booming with the speakers on. "Won't promise anything!"

* * *

"Mr. Stark! When will the installation process take place and how long for each?"

"Have you reached an agreement with both parties and do you believe the U.S Government will approve of your approach by the end of your suggested deadline, which would be December 31st?"

"Will each partner handle their own installation and invest a substantial amount as well? And will Hammer Tech be involved in the project under your potential approval?"

"Mr. Stark-!"

As Tony exited the stage, leaving behind a massive crowd of people cheering and clapping, he got swarmed with news reporters, journalists and photographers all yeling over one another as they attempted to get him to answer their questions or get a good angle on him.

The billionare decided to answer to respond to a few of them that caught his attention or that he heard first.

To the man with a similar goatee resemblance, but poorly unevenly trimmed (what a disgrace if that was supposed to represent his commitment to Team Iron Man, in Tony's opinion): "I don't know."

For the lady in a clad ruby red jumpsuit who seemed too overzealous about meeting and getting to ask a question to Tony Stark (thank god she was behind five people): "Yes, and I'm pulling back the deadline to October 30th. That should still be enough and if it isn't, then why am I asking them in the first place?"

To another woman who looked professional in her work clothes, blonde hair cascading down her back in soft waves and the neon blue dress hugging her in all the right places. Tony would've almost flirted with her subtly if it weren't for the fact that she looked too much like Christine Everhart...Oh shit. That couldn't be her, could it? He thought he got rid of her ages ago. Shit, shit, shit. "I'm handling the whole thing here and I'm not going broke just because those assholes won't pay their dues." Then another question. He looked at her incredulously, as if she had the audacity to ask that question when everybody knows the tension between both companies. Plus, he was still in jail, so. "Lady...fuck no."

With that over, he flashed his signature billion dollar smile with a peace sign on the side and made his way over to the exit, with Happy acting as his bodyguard. He took out another pair of sunglasses he secretly tucked in his Armani suit and put them on. And no, it did not make him look like a total dick.

"You look like a douche, Stark."

Tony swirled around, fists raised in case he had an attacker in front of his face. He was stiff at first but eased up when it was just Steve Rogers, all dressed up in a cottony-like blue plaid button up shirt that seemed to hug on ALL of the right places, flashing an underline of his glorious abs and a probably chiseled chest. The shirt was neatly tucked underneath beige pants and he also wore his favorite leather jacket, and a pair of Armani dress shoes as well that Pepper gave him on Christmas. The layers of clothes did little to nothing to hide away the indentation of his super serum muscles (and even more super since he worked out EVERY SINGLE DAY) and Tony might've found himself staring before he cleared his throat, frowning at his teammate.

"First Pepper and now you? She did something to you, didn't she?" Tony prodded his chest and crossed his arms in a childish manner. "Capsicle, you wound me even more."

Steve rolled his eyes and tagged along with him, all three men trailing towards the exit, with Happy keeping his distance. "That was a nice presentation you had there. Did you really plan everything in four days, Tony?"

Tony nodded, giving him a smug smile in the process. "Yep and it's called the Stark Expo, baby cakes. Pay homage to the name." He gave him a pointed look and Steve just laughed.

"Right. So what was it all about? Kind of got stuck in traffic so I couldn't really make it here in time. Sorry." Steve gave a genuine apologetic smile and stuck his hands inside his pant pockets. He looked so adorable.

"Traffic? Spangles, there's barely any here compared to Manhattan." Tony narrowed his eyes at him. It was sort of true. The cities here were more calm and carefree, and in Manhattan everything was chaos and the honking of cars was always there. "What got you in the way from coming to the best show in town?"

"Well," The super soldier started out, shrugging as he went along. "I had work to do in San Francisco, classified, so I can't tell you anything. Or to anybody actually." They were outside by now and he saw the sleek black limousine out in front, but Tony was going in another direction. "Um, Tony, the car's right here." He called out and the billionaire turned around to look at him.

"I know, but I'm hungry," Tony stated like it was so obvious. "And so is Happy. Want to join us?" He pointed to a nearby cafe right around the corner. It wasn't like those high-end retail cafe shops, just a simple place with comfortable looking seatings and a nice home-like interior. It seemed inviting and there was enough people to still keep it running.

Steve thought for a moment, but it didn't really look like he had any choice at all. He wasn't really hungry since he ate dinner at a local diner, but he didn't want to be alone in the limo, waiting for Tony and Happy to finish their coffee and other goodies they would buy. So he nodded and jogged until he reached them, opening the door to them and other customers who were also getting in or out. Good manners are important.

Steve noticed Tony roll his eyes at him and he raised an eyebrow, entering the cafe and standing next to him on the side. "What?"

"Could you get anymore nicer these days, Captain?"

"Maybe. Why? Is that a problem?"

"Maybe. I'm not used to being around people who are way too nice." Tony smirked and looked at the menu. Apparently this week it was all Avengers themed and the names seemed promising. "The Double Smash" for Hulk, "Widow's Bite" for the Black Widow, "You're Not Worthy" for Thor, "Bullseye" for Hawkeye, "Star Spangled Banner" for Captain America and "The Iron Supreme" for himself. Obviously he ordered two of himself, four from Thor and one of each for the rest of the team. Actually, two from Steve, though he doesn't know why.

"And I'm suppose to take that as a..." Steve trailed off, unsure if Tony's comment was suppose to be a compliment or straight out rude. He supposes it's a bit of both.

"Compliment, obviously. I did say you were nice." Tony said.

"Too nice-"

"Same mumbo jumbo. So do you want anything or what?" The billionaire looked back at him and proceeded to take out his credit card from his way too expensive Louis Vuitton wallet. Steve shook his head.

"No, thank you."

"You're missing out on some good stuff, Stevie." Tony smirked and waited for his drinks to be ready. Happy already got his and was waiting outside in the cool breezy air. "So you were in San Francisco, missing out on my spectacular entrance,"

Steve nodded. "I did say I was sorry. Anyways, I left at around four o'clock, made it onto the highway and just stopped to eat for a bit, before coming here. I would've made it here on time, but they let me go a bit later than planned."

"And you didn't see me on TV?"

"Excuse me?"

Tony rolled his eyes at Steve's politeness. "The TV. Don't they have TV's in diners or something?"

"I...don't know. I don't think so." Steve shook his head. "Back in the forties, we didn't have TV's in diners yet."

"Well I'm sure now they all do. So are you sure you didn't see me on TV or something? Not even the slightest mention of me?"

"No, I'm sorry."

Tony nodded as a response and a few minutes later, his drinks were ready. It was eleven in total and he made Steve carry two trays of four. He ignored the look Steve was giving him and tutted outside, walking over to the limo.

"Tony, are you seriously going to drink all of this?" Steve trailed behind him, while trying not to spill any by his speed. "I thought you said you were hungry!"

"I am," Tony slid inside the car in the back. "Take one if you like."

"You do know this isn't food, right?"

"...Then I guess I'm thirsty. Now gimme." Steve shook his head in response and handed Tony the coffee, wondering how Pepper deals with Tony's antics all the time.

Once Tony had his trays, he looked at Steve expectantly since he left the door open for him to get in. "Well...get in."

The super soldier declined his offer to ride in the car seeing as he had a motorcycle with him. "No, thank you. I have my own ride."

"We can always pop it inside the trunk. It should fit, right?"

"It's fine, Tony, I'll just-"

"How about on the roof? We'll just strap it on and hope that it doesn't crush us-"

"Tony." Said man looked at him. "It's alright, I promise. I wouldn't even fit inside the car if I tried and I much prefer my own ride if that's okay with you." Steve smiled and closed the door. "Plus, I bet I can get there much faster by motorcycle than a car."

Tony raised an eyebrow and looked at his chauffeur. "Do you hear that Happy? The Captain is challenging us to a race! Better hit that gas pedal."

"I don't think I was implying a race..."

"Oh, but you did," Tony smirked and wagged a finger at him. "Give us a head start, though, because if you don't than that's cheating."

"I don't cheat, Stark."

"I'm not giving you the benefit of the doubt. And I thought we were past the last name stage," Tony shrugged. "So you up for it, Captain, or not? Your call...or no call, since I'm still gonna do it. It's not going to be much fun, though. Just saying."

Steve contemplated for a minute. Even if it was a race or not, he was still going to win either way. His motorcycle was way faster than any regular car, but he's still going to do it, just for the billionaire's sake.

"You're on, Mr. Stark." He smirked and extended his hand, intending to shake hands with him like anyone else would do. Unless they don't do that anymore, then...

Tony happily shook his hand and mock saluted to him. "You heard the Captain, Happy. Now go hit that gas pedal!" And then they sped off, leaving a trail of smoke behind.

Steve just shook his head at the dilating car in the distance and waited a few minutes, before hopping onto his own motorcycle and speeding off back to Malibu, laughing in amusement.

XOXOXOXO

Steve didn't see it coming.

He really didn't see anything coming.

But then again, it was Tony Stark and nobody can see anything coming from Tony Stark.

So when Steve hops out of his motorcycle and strolls past the limo, entering the back door of the garage with his helmet tucked against his right side, he shakes his head in genuine amusement and walks up to the elegantly modernized spacious living room, taking a seat across from the champion. He raised an eyebrow and half-smiled.

"You used the Iron Man suit, didn't you, Tony?"

Tony looked up from his tablet, taking a sip from his coffee. He made a face a second later and set the cup down, smirking at Steve. "You're an hour late, Capsicle. And how dare you insinuate I did such a thing?"

"I took my time," Steve shrugged and fiddled with his jacket. "And I do know it's not normal to see a flying man carrying a car through the sky." He smiled at that bit.

"No, it's normal. I do it all the time in New York."

"Carrying a car through the sky?"

"No, the flying man part. You see me do it all the time." The billionaire smirked and pushed a drink towards him, a familiar glint in his eyes. "I dare you."

Steve cocked his head a bit, his face twisted in a look of innocent confusion. Why did he look so fucking cute and beautiful at the same time?

He looked at the drink and then at Tony. "Dare me to do what?"

Tony almost groaned and he rolled his eyes at Steve's question. But he'll secretly admit that the Captain looked cute when his face was like that. Shit. What the hell is he thinking? "I dare you to drink Thor's coffee."

"Thor made this? I thought-"

"No, it's like an ode to Thor," Tony shrugged and gestured to the other cups. Each cup had a colored band around it, so I was easy to distinguish which was for who. "Red is for me, blue is for you, green is for Brucie, yellow is for Thor, Purple is for Legolas and black for Natasha. Each has their own 'special' taste and might I add, yours tastes great." The billionaire smirked and winked at the soldier.

Steve felt his face heat up and he couldn't stop the blush that was already showing. Tony's "compliment" (if it really was one) made him feel...jittery on the inside, but in a good kind of way. It was weird, but it's true. Not that he'll ever admit, because he won't.

The Captain swallowed and smiled. "Oh, really? What did it taste like?"

"Kind of fruity, which is weird considering how coffee isn't usually like that." Tony shrugs, completely missing the way how Steve's smile turned into a slight frown.

"Then what is it really suppose to taste like?"

"Strong, sweet or in the middle. Something along those lines."

"Fruit is sweet." Steve states like it was obvious.

"Don't try to twist my words around, Capsicle. I know you." Tony gave him a look, but grinned nonetheless.

Steve just shook his head. "So you said you dared me to drink Thor's coffee?"

"Yes I did. You up for it?"

"I guess," The super soldier scratched his head, eyeing the coffee. "Does it have a name for this? Or is it just 'Thor's Coffee'?"

"'You're Not Worthy'."

"I'm not worthy of Thor's coffee?" Why did Tony have to be so confusing? "Then why did you dare me to drink it in the first place?"

"No, no, no grandpa. That's what it's called. 'You're Not Worthy'. You know, like Mjölnir." Tony rolled his eyes. "And possibly the elevator."

Right. That made much more sense.

"Okay. So what does it taste like?"

The billionaire was on the verge on shoving it down Steve's throat any second now. "Just drink the damn coffee, Steve."

And Steve did just that, gulping down almost one fifth of the whole cup. He set the cup down on the table and analyzed. Bitter, definitely bitter, but with a vague taste of sweetness. It almost tasted like black coffee (smelled like it too), and some very different spices were mixed in as well. Possibly cinnamon, nutmeg, some kind of powder (later on he realized it was onion), cherry juice and...hot sauce? What the hell was this?

Name never lied, though. Steve was just not worthy of Thor's most distinguished taste. And so was Tony.

"You're not worthy." Tony smirked.

"And neither are you."

"And how do you know that?"

"I saw you drinking one of the cups when I came in. Made a face and placed it back down." Cap smiled in return.

"Fair enough."

It was silent for the remainder of the night. Both men made friendly chat, drank coffee and that was it. Then they sat in peaceful quiet, Steve drawing sketches on his little pad that he tucked inside his jacket and Tony reading some sciency articles on revolutionary technology, things Steve or the rest of the Avengers (except for Bruce) will never even bother to understand. It was okay, though, because that's what made the Avengers be the Avengers.

"So, when are you leaving to New York?" Steve said, not looking up from his work as he drew the Malibu coastline and the starry night. It was such a beautiful sight, one that he'll probably never get another chance to see again. So he tried to memorize every single detail of the way the stars shone, the sharp edges of the rocks, the water waves splashing against the boulders and the reflection of the moon light hitting the water.

"When are _you_ leaving?"

"I asked you first, Stark."

Tony rolled his eyes, flipping the digital page onto the next one. "Tomorrow afternoon. Now answer my question, Rogers."

Steve also rolled his eyes, erasing a stray pencil line from his work. "Tomorrow, I guess. I already spent a week here and it was a fun experience, so thank you. Malibu was beautiful." This time, he did look up and flashed a genuine smile in appreciation. Because Steve was also going to California for SHIELD related business, Tony had offered him to stay at the house with him, seeing as how Tony and Pepper also had business to attend to at Stark Industries. During his time travelling to other cities, Steve had the chance to explore and discover new things and cultures, food and the typical California lifestyle. He went to the beaches, saw Hollywood, saw the Golden Gate Bridge and did many other adventurous activities. But the best part was that he got to spend the fun with Tony, and not alone as he thought he would. Steve didn't even ask him if he wanted to come along (seeing how Tony had conferences to attend), the billionaire just did it willingly. Or maybe he just felt bad for him.

It didn't matter either way.

Tony was about crack another joke when he noticed how genuine Steve sounded. So he toned it down a bit and nodded, offering him a small smile in return. "Don't mention it, Cap."

"Steve. Just call me Steve. Cap is when we're in uniform and fighting battles."

Tony just blinked at him and then nodded, not expecting this turn of events. But if it made Cap happy, then what the hell? "Don't mention it, _Steve_."

The super soldier smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

Again with the silence. This time, it didn't last long since Tony had to break the ice three minutes later.

"You're flying back home with us, right?"

Steve was so immersed in his work that he didn't acknowledge Tony's question. It wasn't until one of those coffee cups hit his head that caught his undivided attention. "Huh? Do you need something, Tony?"

Tony rolled his eyes at Steve's oblivious self. "I asked if you were going to fly back home with Pepper and I."

Oh. "No, it's fine, thank you."

Tony raised an eyebrow and stashed away his tablet...somewhere. "So...you're not coming with us?"

Steve blinked at him, already wondering if Tony didn't get the memo. "I thought I already established that question. No, I'm not coming with you and Pepper to New York."

"And...why not?"

"Because...I don't want to?"

Steve was getting too suspicious, which is odd because people never see Steve as suspicious. He was normally loyal, steadfast, trustworthy, honest and many other words that can fit the description of good old Steve Rogers. Suspicious-looking wasn't one of them.

"Why not?" Tony pressed against the issue.

"I have my own ride."

"The motorcycle?"

"What else could it be?"

"I don't know, a plane?"

"I have my reasons."

"Ooh, you're keeping a secret. What is it?"

"Should I recite the Amendments to you, Tony?"

"Living up to the name. I love it. You keep that to your self."

"No, I don't think I should. You keep asking a lot of questions, and frankly, it's quite annoying." Steve glared at him and closed his sketch pad, placing it back in his jacket. He crossed his arms and waited to see if Tony dared to ask, yet, another annoying question.

"...I just think you should tell me why you don't want to come back to New York with me and Pepper. And no, that was not a question, okay?" Shit. "Shit."

Steve couldn't hold back the tiny chuckle as Tony realized his mistake. Spending time with Tony was quite fun, unexpected and ridiculous in a good way. "I should wash your mouth with soap one day."

"Pass. I'm fine with the way I speak." The billionaire smirked. "Fuck you."

"Fudge."

"Shit."

"Darn."

"Motherfucker."

"Mothertrucker."

Tony howled in laughter as he tried to regain his stability, meanwhile Steve laughing as well, but in a more controlled way. Eventually Tony did calm down and he shook his head in amusement.

"Steve Rogers, you are one hell of a something."

"Thank you, I suppose?

"Still have lots to learn though."

"I'm not getting a potty mouth, Stark."

"We'll see about that."

Steve rolled his eyes and stood up from his spot, walking around the living room as a form of stretching his muscles. He came to a halt in front of the giant window panel, where the view Steve used for his sketch was in directly in front of him. He twisted his head a bit to the left and saw what was beyond that little restricted image. Water and sand and Palm trees and tiny little lights across the horizon that would eventually become people's residences in the early dawn of tomorrow.

"So why don't you want to come with us?" Tony asked as he went to stand alongside Steve. His suit jacket was on the couch and his dress shirt was slightly unbuttoned, the arc reactor revealing itself and creating a reflection on the window.

"I don't know. Maybe since I don't often travel to lots of places in my spare time, I just wanted to see what the country had to offer other than New York and California." The super soldier responded softly, shrugging at the same time. "It'll take a few days, so I'm leaving at 4 in the morning if I want to arrive at Clint and Natasha's wedding in time. By that, I mean a few days before their big day."

Tony nodded in response.

"You should come, you know?"

The billionaire perked up at this. "Go where? With you?"

Steve smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess."

Tony looked at him in skepticism. "No offense, but why should I? I mean, you're a great guy and all, but a 'road trip' really isn't my thing. Plus, you're motorcycle isn't big enough for two people."

"It is, but you probably wouldn't last on one would you?" Steve smiled in a nonchalant way.

"No way. Like I said, it's not my thing." Tony offered an apologetic smile and turned around, intent on heading down to his workshop.

Steve took one last look of the scenery before trailing behind the genius and to the workshop. He'd been down there a few times before and it was certainly much bigger than the one at the tower. No doubt.

"So when you get back to the tower tomorrow, what do you plan on doing all day? All week, actually?" Steve called out as he entered the cluttered place, heaps of metal and the distant smell of diesel found everywhere. He walked around the workshop, still awaiting for a response.

Tony frowned at his question and didn't hesitate to respond. "I'll be in my workshop, fixing and inventing amazing and awe-inspiring stuff."

"The whole week?"

"Well, what else am I suppose to do? That and other than helping pay for the wedding costs."

"That's my point, Tony. All you do is hole yourself up in your workshop for hours, days even. It's either me, Pepper whenever she's there or JARVIS who ends up having to drag you out of there to eat and sleep." Steve sighed and that perfect face of his turned into a frown, clearly disappointed at all of this. "Look Tony, as much as I respect and admire your work and everything you've done for us since we began to be the Avengers, this shouldn't go on like this forever. You need to at least get out more, and if you can't stop playing around with your tools, at least do it outside. And I mean outside-outside, where all the trees grow and there's cars honking 24/7."

Tony raised an eyebrow, displeased at Steve who was telling him to do stuff. He does what he wants and that's that. Not the other way around. "You're not telling me what to do, Steve. It's not your place to decide what's good for me or what's bad. I can handle myself, thank you very much."

Steve shook his head. "You're right. It's not. It was just a mere suggestion to be taken into _consideration_."

Tony didn't say anything. Instead, he began to toy around with some blueprints and a wrench.

"Plus, what's wrong with a nice view of Las Vegas?" The super soldier smiled, already thinking about the places he was going to stop and see, most of them recommendations from a lovely old couple Steve met at the dinner earlier today.

"Been there, done that."

He rolled his eyes and walked up to him, taking a seat on a chair besides the genius. "A nice view from Red Rock Canyon? Have you really done that before, Stark?"

And he's got him right there. Tony sat there quietly, the pencil in his hand lying still as he listened to Steve, mentally cursing the Captain for his cunning ways. "No."

"For a skilled genius, I'm surprised you never thought of that before. But better late than sorry, right?" Steve patted him on the back.

"What kind of game are you playing at, Steve? Because I'm telling you right now, I'm not liking it." Tony squirmed as he pried Steve's warm hand away from his back. He glared daggers at him while trying to refocus on the task on hand. It wasn't that easy.

"Well that's too bad. You would really like it if you decided to come." The soldier smiled and dropped the little facade he was wearing. Tony would've really liked it. He just wanted for him to tag along so wouldn't feel so put out of this world. His friends and the closet people he knew had turned old or had passed away. He was just a man out of time who forgot what it felt like to explore and share the things with a friend. With a close friend. "By the way, Pepper told me to tell you that the workshop back at the tower was off limits for the whole week. She said she had work planned out for you, like lots of work. Her words not mine."

He flashed him a tired smile and waved. "Goodnight, Tony. Please don't stay up too late." And with that, He began to retreat back upstairs and to his guest room, getting a goodnight sleep for tomorrow's busy day.

That left Tony wandering about in his own safe haven, thinking what the hell he was getting himself into.

* * *

 **Pretty long chapter, eh?**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this week's update and the last chapter I posted last week! This has been really fun to write and I hope I got Steve, Tony and Pepper's characters right :)**

 **Like, follow and review!**

 **Thanks again :)**

 **\- Kay.**


	3. The Start Of Something Chaotic

I do not own the Avengers in any shape or form. Just the story plot.

And if I did own it, STONY WOULD BE CANON :D

* * *

Road Trip (or when we kissed and missed the wedding)

[8-2-15]

Ch.2

 **"The Start Of Something Chaotic"**

* * *

The soft patter of the rain gently rapped against the window panel, resonating throughout the room. The sky was still dark, but wisps of grey started to form from the horizon, a distant boom of lightning was heard and the tree leaves gently swayed from left to right.

Steve scouted throughout the room for his necessities, grabbing his clothes and neatly folding them, then settling it into a pile on his bed. His socks and undergarments were already stored away in a small Ziploc bag and he only had two pairs of shoes, so one of them were already in his duffel bag and the other one he would be wearing today.

He had just taken a quick shower and the outfit he was wearing yesterday was currently being dried in the machine, along with little scented Downey papers he found in one of the cabinets in the laundry room.

Steve had already gathered everything he owned and settled them on his bed, organized by material and the duffel bag was zipped open, ready to be filled. He first put his clothes in the bag, pants on the bottom then the shirts and his leather jacket he loved on the tippy top of the stack. The Ziploc stuffed bag went next, resting in the crook of the corner and then his Armani shoes, because they were just too fancy and expensive to be worn on a motorcycle.

 _"Captain Rogers, your clothes have completed their drying cycle and the bots have taken the liberty of folding your clothes for you."_ JARVIS said, making Steve jump in ssurprise. Of course, he forgot JARVIS was also installed in the house. Steve sighed and smiled, raising an eyebrow and almost missing the amused tone JARVIS had.

Then he blinked. "The bots are here too? I thought they were in New York."

 _"Sir required their assistance for a project he was conducting during this week. Unfortunately, that meant taking up most of their battery so they were charging for most of the time in the workshop."_

"Oh. They will be coming back to the tower, right?"

 _"Of course, Captain. Sir never leaves his prized possessions behind."_

Steve smiled at that bit. Tony had always been criticized and deemed as a heartless, selfish billionaire (and sometimes he was selfish), but if someone had the time and patience to actually look past that cover-up, Tony was many things that others would never believe in their life and would place bets if it was true or not. Just thinking about other people doing that behind Tony's back sickened Steve to the core. Tony doesn't deserve the hate, the negativity radiating off of other people, but he puts up a good facade and resumes living life like always.

As Steve dazed off, surrounded by his own thoughts, the door to the guest room silently opened, Dummy and You quietly whirling inside as each carried a clothing material. They gently beeped, hoping to grab the Cap's attention.

 _"It appears you have visitors, Captain Rogers."_ JARVIS spoke up, shaking Steve out of his reverie.

Steve was baffled at first before detecting soft beeps from behind him. He turned around cautiously and relaxed, breaking into a grin as he spotted the famous bots, each holding an article of his clothing. He collected it from them and stashed it in his bag, finally zipping it up as he was done with the tedious task of packing. He turned around again and softly patted them on their metal.

"Thanks guys. I'll see you back in New York, okay?" He smiled when the bots made another high-pitched beep, before wheeling out of the door and back to the workshop before Tony could find out.

Steve sighed and looked at the window, the rain stopping for a bit and the thunder booms getting louder as the sky changed to a muggy gray. He wasn't sure if he wanted to leave right away, for the concern of weather changes and other factors right now. But he did tell Clint he would be at the bachelor party, even if really doesn't want to.

So without a second thought, Steve grabbed his bag and motorcycle gear, glancing back to the Malibu coastline one last time before heading out the door, soundlessly closing the door behind him.

 _"I do wish you a safe trip, Captain Rogers. Hopefully you will be able to enjoy the marvelous sights this country has to offer and return safely back to the tower. Good luck, Captain."_ JARVIS spoke quietly, as to make sure no one wakes up at 4 a.m in the morning.

"Thank you, JARVIS." Steve smiled in gratitude and looked around the humongous place. Once the coast was clear, he sneaked down to the garage and closed the door behind him, flipping the light switch on.

"Oh my god, finally,"

Steve let out a (manly) yelp and dropped his helmet, his fingers dancing around the straps of the duffel bag. He turned around stiffly, shield in one hand before glaring at the intruder, then softening his look to one of surprise and disbelief. "Tony?"

"Surprise, surprise. I get that look every single time." Tony smiled and took off his sunglasses, yawning as he stretched inside one of his luxurious cars. He looked back at Steve and then at the bag that was on the floor. "The bag, Steve."

Right. He dropped the bag a second later because of freaking Tony Stark. Steve shook his head and picked it up, slowly walking towards him. "So you did decided to come along after all."

"I didn't do it for you, I did it for Pepper. I talked to her last night about what she supposedly told you to tell me, turns out she wasn't bluffing." Tony sighed and rolled his eyes at that. "I'm not going to enjoy this, though."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure you do." Steve smiled in return and walked over to his motorcycle, beginning to secure the bag to his ride.

Tony eyed him and cleared his throat. "Uh, Capsicle? No motorcycle."

No motorcycle? So he was going to have to share a car with Tony? Alright then, but he wasn't going to leave his bike behind. How was he going to take it with him?

Tony must've sensed his distress about it and shook his head. "Happy will load it onto the plane later. Your bike will be fine, Steve."

"Um, alright then." Steve blushed as he tried to un-strap his bag from the motorcycle. Once that was done, he walked over to Tony's car, taking in the glossy coat of car polish and he wasn't sure if he was suppose to be surprised or not at the fact that he didn't even find one single scratch on it. Not even a tiny, barely visible one.

Steve let out a breath of air he didn't know he was holding back and opened the door, cautiously slipping into the leathery cushioned seat before meekly grabbing the steering wheel, feeling the soft Italian leather underneath his fingers. He stared in awe at all the different functions and gadgets on the car, wondering how something so small and simple can make a huge difference on the car's performance. Of course, he'd been in one before (in DC with Natasha), but she was the one driving and he didn't really care back then, just focusing at the task in hand. But this one was different. First, he was now paying attention, and secondly, this is Stark's car.

"Never seen a car before, Steve?"

The soldier looked at his friend who was sitting in the passenger seat, smirking as he tapped his fingers against the windowsill. Steve blushed in embarrassment and grabbed the keys that were sitting on the headboard, shoving them into the ignition, the engine roaring to life. He glanced back at Tony and started to maneuver the car backwards, while checking to see that he wasn't hitting anything. He was going to be fine. Natasha taught him how to drive a car like this before...except maybe he should've paid a tad bit more attention. Too late now.

"It's a nice car," Steve smiled and once he safely pulled out of the parking spot, he began to drive towards the curved incline exit, the door opening itself. The car rolled out of the tunnel and now the duo were hitting the road, leaving the house and the beautiful city of Malibu behind.

"Just a nice car?" Tony asked, watching the streets of Malibu pass by in a blur.

The thunder cracked even louder as the sky turned gray, and a few early droplets of water cascaded down to earth as Tony pressed a button that made the car roof pop open, shielding them from the rain. Steve wanted to stare in amazement but he had to keep his eyes on the road at all times. Fun times.

"No, it's a stunning and breathtaking car, Stark." Steve chuckled but his words were meant to be honest. He looked over to Tony momentarily before eyeing the road once more.

Tony smirked in return. "Sarcastic demon."

The soldier shook his head. "No, I mean it, Tony. It really is beautiful car. How can you afford all of this?" Then he realized what he said and blushed, mentally scolding himself for asking such a ridiculous question. Tony must think differently of him now. But then again, what did he think of him anyways? "What I meant to say, was...well...um..." What did he mean to say again? And his face began to itch as he felt like he was as red as a beet.

"Red as a tomato. You okay there, Cap?" Tony raised an eyebrow, but looked over him with concern hidden in his eyes.

"Y-y-yeah, I'm fine." Steve offered a weak smile in return.

They reached to a halt in front of a red light and the rain was thundering down on them. Tony became bored and preoccupied himself with his phone, playing some kind of kind of games Steve would never even understand. Or even try to play since he doesn't seem to be that interested in that.

Steve frowned and began to think of ways to get Tony to enjoy this whole thing. He didn't want the billionaire to sink himself into the world of technology and games and stuff. Steve wanted this to be a wonderful experience, see sights that he's sure Tony has never seen before, explore the cultures in America that makes the country a melting pot, and just relax and take in everything, enjoying fresh air rather than being cooped up in a room all day with the same stale air circling around.

Steve just wanted for both of them to be happy, but Tony doesn't seem to be cooperating one bit...for now.

The super soldier stuck his hand into a blue and beige bag he took with him, taking out a neatly folded paper that would soon turn out to be a mess of rumpled corners everywhere, words, numbers and lines written and drawn on every single inch of the paper. Steve hummed as he gently attempted to unravel the folded square paper, not in any rush whatsoever.

Tony made a noise and looked up from his phone, only to have half of his face covered in paper as he sputtered in surprise, swatting it away from him. He stared at Steve incredulously. "Steve,"

"Yes?" Steve glanced at him. The light turned green and Steve drove for a second before parking temporarily.

"This is a map,"

"I know it's a map, Tony."

"A map." The genius stored his phone away and turned around in his seat to face the soldier.

Steve stopped what he was doing and blinked at him. He knew it was a map. Why was Tony surprised? They had maps in the forties too. "And are you trying to make a point here, Stark?"

"Yes I am. We have things called a GPS now." Tony remarked, an eyebrow raised.

GPS? That sounded...complicated.

"Right..." Steve trailed off, his eyes wandering off to the map once more.

"Global Positioning System. You just type in whatever address you want to go to and it'll give you the directions in a second. It's just that simple, Stevie."

"Well," At last, Steve had his map smoothed out and was now tracing his finger along the yellow lines that represented the interstates. "I prefer to use the map because I'm used to it, Tony. This 'GPS' sounds too complicated." He shrugged.

"It's easy, trust me. You'll get the hang of it soon." Tony said.

"Maybe some other time, Stark. When we're not driving on the highway, 3000 miles away from home," Steve gave him a pointed look and smiled, marking a red dot on the map. He hummed before gingerly folding it back up, smacking Tony in the face a few times but he managed it nicely.

Soon, both men were rolling down the highway, the rooftop disappearing since Tony had convinced Steve to pull it back down, the clouds beginning to fade away as the stench of wet dog had yet to settle in. Steve poked the screen to search for good radio stations, wondering what it does. Tony rolled his eyes and sighed.

"You don't have a clue what you're doing, right?"

"I know I'm looking for some good songs. This is what it's for, right?" Steve glanced at him before looking back to the road. He wasn't all too familiar with the modern day cars these days, but he was trying to get the hang of it. _Trying._

"And GPS too, you know." Tony pointed at him and perched his sunglasses back on his face, leaning into his seat. Steve shook his head and just chose a random station. He soon picked another one again, seeing as the blaring sounds and raucous beats of EDM didn't suit his liking at all.

The next station happened to be full of Nirvana and Twenty One Pilots. He smiled.

"I'm driving, Tony. No GPS."

"But it's my car."

"And yet you're sitting in the passenger seat, leaving me to drive. It'll take me a while to get used to this 'GPS' thing, so bear with me."

"Really? It only took Thor a day to master the arts of GPS." The billionaire shrugged. "Destroyed my car with Mjölnir and had to file in a few incident reports last week for trespassing shit and attempting to have a duel with a tiger at the zoo."

"Do I want to know?" Steve sighed in exasperation. The things Tony and Thor get into. It's like he always has to stay on top of them and make sure they don't get into any shit, which is pretty much all the time. Thor is understandable most of the time, Tony is another story.

"If you watch TV more often, you wouldn't be asking me that."

"So I don't want to know?"

"Maybe you do. So-"

"Anyways," Steve cut him off, not too keen on finding out about it now. He'll get his share from Fury one of these days. "The expo thing. What was that about? You never told me."

" _Stark_ Expo, Steve. And it went great, thanks for asking." Tony rolled his eyes, a glint in his eyes.

"Right. I'm sorry, the _Stark_ expo. What was that about?" The super soldier mocked nonchalantly, the corner of his lips tugging upwards.

"Haha. I was just showcasing a spectacular new idea that should -and will- revolutionize the world if everyone were to contribute their part in it. And by part, I mean money." The genius scoffed. "It's a bit dangerous, sure, but it's still great."

"That's...great," Steve deliberately responded, raising an eyebrow not sure as to whether or not to support his friend's project because it was deemed dangerous. He sure respected Tony's creations and was left in awe at how marvelous and complex the billionaire's stuff were, but he never liked the risks Tony took to achieve whatever he'd built, or sometimes the idea of what it's suppose to do behind it. That man could go hours without eating and days without sleeping, and that could be a serious threat to Tony's health if it continues this way. Steve wasn't fond of his antics and deeply cares for him (even if he would never admit it himself), but who was he to stop the genius from accomplishing many things?

"You don't like it, do you?" Tony was now looking at him, his gaze focused intently only on Steve as the soldier squirmed in his seat in pressure, not in favor of what seemed to be an accusatory tone, even if Tony was smirking like he always does.

"Y-y-you never told me what it was in the first place," Steve tried to defend himself. "And you did say it was dangerous, Tony."

"Right. I forgot you didn't like it when I do dangerous stuff." Tony chuckled.

"I don't."

"Oh, Stevie. You're too much of a mother hen."

Steve furrowed his eyebrows. He wasn't a 'mother hen'...whatever that meant. Did he really miss out on so many things throughout the previous years of being stuck in the ice? And half of what he now knows doesn't even make sense at all!

"So, my idea. It's suppose to be clean energy and it is, but for some reason, some shithead argues that it's not. But that's just him: nobody else agrees." Tony spies Steve opening his mouth to reprimand him for his language, so he quickly cuts him off. "So what I was thinking is that in each company, they would have an underground water system built underneath their facilities or buildings, whatever. The point is, water is another form of generated electricity that isn't commonly used here in our beloved land, Steve. They'll also have a windmill. Wind currents maneuver the windmill which would drag electricity down its wires, which connects to the machine system underground and the water starts circulating in rhythmic fashion generating tons of electricity for a single building."

Steve was speechless for a second. Only a mind like Tony Stark's could've come up with this in a flash. Sometimes, Steve was a tiny bit jealous of his astonishing abilities to memorize and instantly solve any complicated equations that would've made the super soldier bang his head on the table without end.

"Oh, and if you think that's dangerous, I plan on installing water pipes on each side or corner of the facilities or buildings. One wrong move and I'm assuming everything will explode. We can't have that, Stevie." Tony shook his head and flinched. "But I'm fine with it if it happens to Hammer Tech."

Steve dragged himself out of his stupor in time to hear Tony's last sentence. "If what happens to Hammer Tech?"

"Cap, you zone out too much. So do you like it or what?"

Steve smiled. "I think it's a great idea, Tony. I'm sure it'll be a success."

"At least you understood it."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Nothing."

They spent the next five hours driving in comfortable silence, with the occasional bickering on song choices and some casual conversations.

With the windows rolled down, Tony poked his head out in time to spot a sign with the words 'ALL YOU CAN EAT SHWARMA BUFFET ONLY 9.99' in the distance, soon passing by him in a blur.

"I need breakfast." Tony announced.

"Need or want? Just because you saw a Shwarma sign doesn't mean you actually want it." Steve glanced at him with a knowing smile.

"Oh, I want it."

"I'm sure you do."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Nothing."

* * *

"Come on, Tony, just a little bit more."

"That's what you said twenty minutes ago, Capsicle! And why did you blindfold me again?"

"It's a surprise."

"You're not going to hand me something important, right?"

Steve raised an eyebrow as he continued to guide the billionaire around some cacti. "Why would you ask that?"

"Just checking."

"Right..."

It had been about 12 more hours of driving until Steve and Tony reached their destination: Red Rock Canyon. Before that, they ate well and luckily arrived in Las Vegas in time for Tony to snatch the last available room in the dazzling and eye-catching hotel suite: The Venetian. Their room was the most expensive one out of the rest in the hotel. And while Tony chatted away with people he never met, Steve was dumbstruck with awe at how clean and fancy everything was. Then he turned uncomfortable and wondered how on earth people can actually live like this. But then again, he lives with Tony Stark. He shouldn't be the one asking that anymore.

So they settled in, Tony running off to the casino afterwards. An hour later he came back on time before being dragged outside to the car, Steve blindfolding him and driving them to where they were now.

After a few more minutes of grumbling and colliding with each other, Steve suddenly stopped moving and grinned like a kid in the candy store, taking in the view of the horizon and the sky, which was covered in shiny stars and clouds of navy blue, white and purple.

"Okay, you can take off the blindfold, Tony."

Tony sighed in relief and fumbled with the knot, managing to untie it before throwing it away, which went over the cliff they were on. "Thank god, I was-"

His words were cut off shortly after witnessing what he considers to be a 'breathtaking view'. It was now dusk but wisps of orange could be seen from afar. The stars twinkled from above and the red rock canyons lived up to their name, showcasing a vibrant red, orange and dusty beige with the shadowy trees and tumbleweed in the background. To his left, the brightened city lights of Las Vegas and a few other cities in the distance.

All in all, he was enthralled by what Steve had kindly offered to show him. It was beautiful. It was nature. It was special. And somehow, Steve made it all better.

Somehow.

"It's pretty nice, right? I've been meaning to come here for a while now." Steve said, smiling in content as he watched Tony's reaction.

"Yeah...I guess it is," Tony responded, plopping down on a rock. Steve sat right next to him and sighed.

Peace and quiet.

"So, um," The genius scratched the back of his head. "Thanks for showing me this... I guess. It was, it was really nice of you to do that..." Yeah, he was never really great at thanking people in a genuine way.

The soldier gave him a sheepish smile. "No problem, Tony. I'm glad you like it since you said last night that you've never seen Red Rock Canyon before. I thought I'd do you a favor by doing this."

Tony blinked before staring at him, his eyes shining in bewilderment, suspicion and a tiny bit of amusement. "Wait, you did this just because I've never been here before? I didn't think you would take it seriously."

"That and like I said, I have always wanted to come here before so it's a win-win, right?"

"Right," Tony smirked and focused on basking in more of the scenery. "So what's next, Capsicle? Mount Rushmore? Disney Land? You've got it all planned out to keep me busy and not use my phone, huh?"

Steve laughed and shook his head. "We'll worry about that later, Tony. Though this 'Disney Land' sounds promising. What's that about?"

And Tony told him all about Disney Land.

* * *

 **Thank you to all those who viewed, liked, followed and reviewed this story :) You guys are awesome!**

 **Tony's idea of clean energy in this chapter was made up, but I think.I'd be cool of people that :)**

 **Hope you enjoyed this week's chapter and don't worry, I'll get to the climax of the story soon!**

 **All grammatical errors if seen in this story are my fault. This goes for the rest of the chapters as well.**

 **Sorry I didn't update last week! Went on vacation so no Wi-Fi at all. Well, actually there was, but my kindle is weird so yeah :/**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Like, follow and review :)**

 **\- Kay.**


	4. Arizona

_I do not own the Avengers in any way, just my story._

* * *

Road Trip (or when we kissed and missed the wedding)

[8-9-15]

 **Ch.3**

 **"Arizona"**

* * *

"So we've got the Fantastic Four coming: Reed, Sue, your long lost brother and Ben."

"He's not my brother, Tony. We look nothing alike!"

Tony ignored him and continued with his memorized list of invitees to Clintasha's wedding. Yes, he'd taken the liberty to calling them by their ship name because it was so much easier that way. "I don't really know about the X-Men. But they can come and go as they please."

"The X-Men?" Steve glanced at Tony, wondering about...whatever the X-Men were.

"Yes, Steve, the X-Men." Tony rolled his eyes. "We're not the only superhero group around, you know? They're like us, but made up of mutants. You're not a mutant, I'm not one either, so I don't think we'd qualify to join their team...if they have certain standards."

"Oh." That still didn't clarify the many questions the super soldier had at the moment, but he decided to let it slip and go back to focusing on the invites. "So who else is coming?"

Tony pondered for a minute before snapping his fingers as more names swirled in his mind. "Brucie's cousin, I think. Jenny something. She's big and green like him, she's great. Works as a lawyer and I forgot the rest." He yawned and smirked.

"Bruce has a cousin?"

"Doesn't everyone?"

"I don't know." Steve shrugged. So she's also a Hulk, like Bruce? That must be very interesting.

"Yeah, so her and some other people. I'll invite some more when I have time." Tony said before sipping his lukewarm coffee which was almost empty by now. He sighed in content before stashing the cup in a plastic bag he dubbed as a trash bag. The billionaire eyed the Captain before leaning back into the soft Italian leather of his seat.

"Aren't you going to eat something, Capsicle?"

Steve looked over to him, nodding as he turned the steering wheel to the right, a slightly sharp turn coming into view. "Uh, yeah, in a little while. Thank you."

"It's cold, Steve."

"Then I'll eat it cold."

"It's been three hours and I'm pretty sure a guy like you needs to eat accordingly...to whatever schedule you have or whatever." Tony shrugged.

"Right...sounds like someone I know should do the same thing," Steve responded, flashing Tony a pointed look along with a condescending smile. Tony groaned.

"I don't need you to baby me, Cap. I am perfectly capable of feeding myself without your help." Tony poked his arm and crossed his arms.

"Coffee isn't food, Tony. And the amount of caffeine you consume every day seems abnormally impossible to handle."

"That's nice. You're calling me abnormal." Tony laughed and sighed in pure amusement afterwards.

Steve stared at the road in front of him incredulously, not affording to glance at his friend next to him. In his defense, he did not call Tony abnormal, absolutely not. He just remarked on how much freaking coffee the billionaire consumed EVERY SINGLE day, which honestly is impossible and straight-out crazy by his standards.

"So, should I baby feed you or what?" Tony spoke up.

"I don't need you to baby me, Stark," Steve mocked him with Tony's words, his voice jocular. "I'll eat in a bit, I promise."

"Well, since you promised..."

Steve smiled as ACDC blasts through the speakers, yet again.

* * *

Steve and Tony now found themselves taking a small break, parking the car in a busy outdoor shopping centre. It was a nice sunny afternoon in Arizona, somewhere in Arizona. There were people strolling around, chatting and laughing with friends, family or their loved ones.

Steve looked at Tony expectantly.

"Yes, Capsicle?"

"Tony," Steve started, his face contorted in amusement while deciding if he should be intrigued about this. "Get out of the car."

"No."

"Should I even ask?"

"Don't you want to know?"

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Sure."

Steve raised an eyebrow at him. "Then...tell me."

Tony sighed as if he'd told his story a million times. Don't people get it? Doesn't Steve get it? He's Tony fucking Stark, for god's sake! Nobody expects Tony Stark to walk around an average shopping centre made for the average person, and he is NOT an average person. Fuck no.

"Nobody expects me to walk around an average shopping centre in the middle of nowhere, Stevie. I'm _Tony Stark_ , not Tony Stark." He said, greatly emphasizing his name at the first mention.

"So?"

Tony looked at him the way Thor would look at YouTube. "Are...are you -oh my god-..." He facepalmed and was on the verge to banging his head on the dashboard. Steve just looked lost.

"Just put a hoodie on and some sunglasses." The super soldier offered, shrugging as he took the keys out of the ignition. "Shouldn't be a problem, Tony. You're a genius. You always know what to do." With that being said, he popped open the door and got out, stuffing the keys in his pocket before heading to the nearby Stop & Shop.

Tony gawked at him for a minute, afterwards fumbling with his seatbelt and grabbing Steve's bag, since his was stashed away in the trunk. He hastily opened the bag and rummaged around for something good to wear. All the Captain had were shirts that seemed too small for his large, yet attractive and gorgeous build.

Tony may or may have not imagined some shameless pics of the Captain.

Aside from that, he had a few pair of Dockers pants, his underwear (oh god) and other necessities he took along with him. Luckily, Tony managed to snag a denim jacket (he never really wears denim) and a Yankee hat. Good enough.

He slipped into the jacket which was quite too big on him, but that was fine. The bigger, the better. Also, he did notice how warm the denim felt against his touch, and how it smelled distantly of a musky cologne, of a really good brand of cologne. But it mostly smelled like good old Steve Rogers. The billionaire wasn't sure how to explain it, but he liked the smell a lot. It was captivating and closely on the verge of comforting. It was creepy.

Tony shook his head and donned his sunglasses and the hat, lastly zipping up the jacket to cover up the glowing circle in his chest that shined through his clothes. He stumbled out of the car and ran to catch up to Steve, who flashed a hearty smile at him. Tony just scowled.

"Nice jacket, Tony, but we're in Arizona." Steve chuckled and walked inside the store, grabbing a small cart with a long handle, like a suitcase. He strolled through the aisles without a hurry, his eyes scanning the dozens of products in front of him, all packaged and ready to go in a flash. Things have really changed...

Tony rolled his eyes and absentmindedly tapped his fingers against the cases of carefully aligned beer bottles, eventually coming to a stop on a case of Heineken. He eyed Steve, who was too busy looking at the vastly array of packaged cheese next to the cold cut section, and cunningly placed a case in the basket.

He smirked in triumph, which was short-lived when Steve grabbed a small bag of apple crisps and said, "I'm not letting you get drunk, Tony. Put it back. You're not paying for it."

Tony frowned. How the fuck did he know about the beer? There were no mirrors, unless... Then he cursed his super heightened sense of hearing, wondering when Steve suddenly decided to be his mama for life. Either he's just naturally a really bossy bitch, or he cares. A lot.

Then the billionaire got an idea and smugly smiled, lifting the case from the basket. He swayed it a little bit, watching Steve stare back at him with a disinterested look. He smirked.

"Oh I'll be paying for it, alright," He uncurled a finger from the grasp. "when I drop it." Tony had to stiffle a laugh when he saw Steve's face.

"Tony!" The super soldier hissed at him, standing in front of him in two strides. "Are you serious right now? Do you know how much trouble you'll be in if you break them?!" Steve began to reach for the beer.

Tony pulled back in time and narrowly missed the mop bucket behind him, filled with dark, murky dirt water. He lowered his sunglasses enough to give Steve a wink, and in return he got a blush which he thought was cute.

In the end, Steve reluctantly gave up and warned Tony not to drink too much, or else.

During their hour-long shopping extravaganza, they both managed to grab some stuff to eat on the road, snacks to be specific. Steve went for the more healthier options (fruits, granola bars, water) and Tony vice-versa (beer, coffee, beef jerky [he thought turkey jerky was gross]).

At last, both men reached the cash register and Steve greeted the cashier, who flashed him a goofy lovey-dovey smile in return and gave him not-so-subtle glances, her eyes wandering everywhere and below...

The billionaire raised an eyebrow and frowned. He wondered how in the fucking world Steve was not noticing this and there was a feeling in the pit of his stomach that was bothering him. That's not good.

He chooses to ignore it.

Then Steve says that he forgot something and rushed away, leaving Tony and the cashier to deal with each other.

Tony glanced at the girl, noting that she now expressed an ugly bored look. He rolled his eyes and played with his phone. After a minute or two, he felt her eyes boring into the back of his head and he raised his head, staring at her through his shades.

"You a fan of Tony Stark?" The girl asks, a curious smirk on her face.

Tony furrowed his eyebrows and nodded, not intending to speak in case that girl recognized him immediately.

"That goatee looks so much like Mr. Stark's, don't you think? But I like it." She smiled and started to carefully place the things in the bags.

"Mmm hmm," Tony responded, cautious enough to not flash her his signature billion-dollar smile.

"You're welcome, you know, jeez. What's your problem, dude?" The girl rolled her eyes and huffed, giving him a dirty look. Tony could only narrow his eyes and tried so hard to keep his fucking mouth shut, for many reasons. He didn't like her anymore. Oh wait, he never did.

But Tony Stark wasn't going to take shit from no one. Oh fuck no. They give shit to him and he'll gladly give it back.

So just when he was going to giver her a piece of his mind, Steve gradually barges in and apologizes like the goody-two-shoes he is. The girl only smiled and nodded in return, ignoring Tony for the remainder of the time.

They paid and walked away to the car afterwards.

* * *

"Are you really pulling an all-nighter, Stevie?"

"If I have to, yes."

Steve huffed and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel absent-mindlessly, watching the overflow of honking cars and blinding lights in front and behind him. It had been like this for over an hour, due to an accident 35 miles north. There was a blimp that constantly flew overboard, with the same damn message apologizing about inconvenience, just like the stenchy subway system in NYC would.

It was 11:30 at night and the sky was already dusk. Steve and Tony had been trying to find a nearby hotel for over an hour after missing an exit because Steve moved into the wrong lane...because they almost ran over a deer.

After that chaotic episode, they still traveled onwards, stopping once to use the bathroom until they've reached to a halt in where they were now.

Tony slumped against his seat, his head lolling back to the headrest as he waved an empty wrapper around lazily. He was tired and felt like he drank too much of Thor's Asgardian liquor in under five minutes. Since then, Tony has had a deep-seated aversion to anything Thor tries to offer him. That shit was nasty, but profoundly addicting for some reason.

"You look like you drank Thor's liquor again. I told you not too drink too much, Tony." Steve pointed out, watching him like a hawk.

"The excelsior or the cheap beer?" Tony asked, wrinkling his nose and looking at Steve through his eyelashes.

Steve gave him an eye-roll. "Both."

"Yeah, well, it was good while it lasted. Never felt so alive in my life...!" He laughed as the last word was drawled out.

The poor Captain frowned and the traffic only moved a smidge. He hated the way people acted when they drank too much. Stumbling around, laughing like clowns on drugs, unruly behavior. It truly disgusted him and that's why he would usually turn down a drink or two. Sometimes, he would drink a glass of champagne and only a glass. A canned beer, the good kinds. One or two shots of tequila or liquor. He would never go overboard like the way Tony, Clint and Thor would. That garnered lots of teasing. He was okay with that.

"Right...Maybe you should go to sleep-"

Suddenly, Tony tugged at his sleeve rather excessively and nodded his head towards a promising, soluble idea. Steve quirked an eyebrow and decided check out whatever Tony was nodding at.

There was a snug space in between a Prius and a Jeep, and since the line kept moving little by little, the driver in the Prius wasn't really paying attention and kept texting whoever. About 20 feet diagonally to the right of the Prius, there was an exit that almost had Steve banging his pretty face on the leather of the wheel. There wasn't any hotel logos or restaurant destinations, just the phrase 'Exit 17' in big white letters against green.

Steve got worried. But then he relaxed slightly, fetching his map from his disheveled bag and unfolding it yet again, smacking Tony like always. This time, he remembers to apologize, but it came out as a mutter. Once the map was a big square, the Captain flicked on the lights and circled the spot that marked his location. He grabbed another map (in book form) and turned to a page where everything was more detailed and in a bigger view. Steve began to make notes.

Tony stared at his comrade in disbelief. How can this man not grasp the idea that something as helpful and tactical such as a GPS, can really do wonders in a matter of seconds? It's not so hard to use and Steve has Tony right there if he needs help. Like, come on!

So just when Tony was about to lose his brains, Steve rapidly folded the map and stashed his things away, looking at the slowly growing space between the Prius and the Jeep.

"We wait."

Tony looked at him. "We...wait?"

"Yes. That person in the Prius doesn't seem to pay attention at the space, so if the Jeep in front can move about two more inches forward, we'll get past there without a problem. That car," Steve pointed at a red Honda which was next to the Prius. "broke down, so it won't be moving any time soon."

Tony seemed impressed at Steve's info and nodded contentedly, confident that it will work.

They sat in silence for the next few minutes, with Tony pressing his face against the window and attempting to mentally make the Jeep move. He wasn't tired at all, considering all of those restless nights where he wouldn't even dare close an eye until his shit was finished. And neither was Steve, since he was once a soldier in the 1940s. In the army, there was no room for sleep. If there was a war raging on, everyone should be yelling and firing bullets and protecting each other and their country.

Steve was fine.

In a flash, Steve gripped the wheel and swiftly moved out of his place, accidentally bumping the Prius in the process and the Jeep. Tony cried in annoyance at Steve for not handling his beautiful baby carefully, but Steve could care less. They were free now. No more waiting for another hour. Thank god.

Now they needed a place to stay.

* * *

 **Thanks to those who liked, followed and reviewed! It means a lot to me :)**

 **Until next week!**

 **\- Kay.**


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